NPD: Six Million More U.S. Homes Added Streaming Media Players Over Past Year

(September 04, 2014)

Port Washington, New York (PRWEB) September 04, 2014

Streaming media players were added to 6 million U.S. homes over the past year, increasing ownership penetration to 17 percent of U.S. Internet households in the second quarter (Q2) of 2014, according to the Connected Intelligence Connected Home Report from The NPD Group. Streaming media player ownership is expected to increase to 39 percent of U.S. Internet households by the beginning of 2017.

The current, and future, penetration increases are being driven by three main factors; more brands in the market, more apps, and lower device prices.

In its infancy, the streaming media player market had two major players driving growth; Apple and Roku now we have four relevant hardware manufacturers with the addition of Amazons Fire TV and Googles Chromecast, said John Buffone, executive director, NPD Connected Intelligence. Content is whats going to bring these devices to the next level. Its not just necessary to be able to stream popular video services such as Netflix and Hulu. Device manufacturers must also have the ability to attract a wide array of content owners and developers to build apps for their platforms which is the direction Apple, Roku, Google, and Amazon are taking with their devices.

Even with all of the upgrades to these devices, prices are coming down, making them more attractive to consumers. The average price of a streaming media player dropped from $88 in 2012 to $61 in the first half of 2014, according to NPDs Retail Tracking Service.

The decline in price was initiated by Google with its $35 Chromecast, and it wasnt long before others, like Roku, responded competitively with solutions such as its HDMI streaming stick for $49, said Buffone. Affordability can drive impulse buying, rapid increases in ownership, and in turn it is increasing the number of homes with access to apps on TV. Its quickly becoming a great new channel content owners can use to grow the audience for popular TV shows, movies and more.

Methodology Connected Home Report More than 5,000 U.S. consumers, age 18 and older were surveyed in the second quarter of 2014. Streaming media player brand share survey results are calibrated to life-to-date unit sales from the NPD Retail Tracking Service.

About Connected Intelligence Connected Intelligence provides competitive intelligence and insight on the rapidly evolving consumers connected environment. The service focuses on the three core components of the connected market: the device, the broadband access that provides the connectivity and the content that drives consumer behavior. These three pillars of the connected ecosystem are analyzed through a comprehensive review of what is available, adopted, and consumed by the customer, as well as reviewing how the market will evolve over time and what the various vendors can do to best position themselves in this evolving market. For more information: http://www.connected-intelligence.com. Follow Connected Intelligence on Twitter: @npdci.